Obama reassures Japan PM after Trump win

[LIMA] President Barack Obama offered assurances Sunday to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of "enduring US commitment" to close ally Tokyo after Donald Trump's shock election victory, an official said.

Mr Trump had alarmed Tokyo policymakers during his campaign for this month's presidential election by musing about pulling thousands of US troops from the region and suggesting that officially pacifist Japan may need nuclear weapons.

However, Mr Abe sounded a positive note after last week becoming the first foreign leader to meet Mr Trump, saying that the US president-elect was someone in whom he could have "great confidence".

Mr Obama sought to reassure Japan of America's commitment to its close alliance with Tokyo in brief talks with Mr Abe on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit on Sunday, a White House official said.

"The president reaffirmed the enduring US commitment to Japan, our treaty ally, and expressed his gratitude for their years of successful cooperation that further strengthened the US-Japan alliance," said the official.

Mr Trump, who is due to be inaugurated as president in January, also vowed during the election to tear up the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a proposed vast trade pact backed by Mr Obama and which Mr Abe has made a top priority.

AFP